Microphysiological systems are microfluidic three-dimensional miniature human tissue and organ models that recapitulate the important biological and physiological parameters of their in vivo counterparts. These biomimetic microtissues are anticipated to supplement the conventional planar, static cell cultures, and to bridge the gaps between the current pre-clinical animal models and the human body. In addition, multiple microtissues may be channeled together through the microfluidics in a similar manner they arrange in vivo, providing the capacity to analyze interactions among these models. This talk will discuss recent efforts on developing various organ-on-chip platforms formed by integration of biofabrication technologies harnessing sophisticated microfluidics and volumetric tissue configurations. These platforms will likely provide new opportunities in constructing functional tissue and disease models for drug discovery, therapeutics screening, and precision medicine.

Learning Objectives: 
1. What microphysiological systems are and how they can contribute to precision drug discovery.
2. How to recapitulate dynamic processes within microphysiological systems.
3. How to reproduce the intricate multi-cellular interactions within microphysiological systems.

Y. Shrike Zhang, Ph.D.

Dr. Zhang is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Associate Bioengineer in the Division of Engineering in Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Zhang is directing the Laboratory of Engineered Living Systems (www.shrikezhang.com), where the research is focused on innovating medical engineering technologies, including 3D bioprinting, organs-on-chips, microfluidics, and bioanalysis, to recreate functional tissues and their biomimetic models, for applications in regenerative medicine and personalized medicine. He is an author of >300 peer-reviewed publications (>50 covers; citations >30,000, h-index = 88). His scientific contributions have been recognized by >50 international, national, and regional awards.

Chukwunonso Nwabufo, MSc, MBA (Moderator)
Chukwunonso Nwabufo is the founder of OneDrug and a multiple award-winning pharmacologist with over six years’ experience in drug development across academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Nwabufo contributed to the development of Remdesivir and Lenacapavir approved for the treatment of COVID-19 and HIV respectively during his tenure at Gilead Sciences. He also contributed to the development of novel compounds under basic science research for the treatment and/or diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
 Nwabufo is the author of 15 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 11 industry-standard peer-reviewed reports in support of drug development programs.

Currently, Nwabufo is a Ph.D. candidate in pharmaceutical sciences at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto and has received the prestigious Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarships – Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements Award to support his research which is investigating pharmacological strategies for improving the clinical efficacy and safety of respiratory medicines, particularly, promising drugs for treating SARS-CoV-2 infection. 

Nwabufo serves as an editorial board member of Drug Metabolism Reviews and Journal of Applied Bioanalysis. He is an abstract screener for PharmSci360 conference and Chair for the Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, and Drug Metabolism Community of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, USA.